


Directions

by heartbreaksoul



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Funny, Humor, Random sweetness, and the Doctor sucks at giving them, put them in a car and what happens?, the Master doesn't do directions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23296669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartbreaksoul/pseuds/heartbreaksoul
Summary: The Master and the Doctor were invited to Graham’s party – The Master drives the car, the Doctor reads the map.At least that's the plan.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58





	Directions

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my mother tongue so sorry in advance for possible mistakes and poor writing.

It was Graham’s birthday.

The Master insisted on driving, so she had to stick to the passenger seat and handle directions. After all it had taken her to convince him to come to the party, the last thing she wanted to do was fighting.

“Can you drive a little faster?”

“The Master flickeredher an annoyed gaze.

“Sure, and when we get pulled over by the police you can tell them we are late for your precious little party.”

She huffed a little.

“Fine. Look, take left at that road up there and we will get there faster.”

“I can’t take the next one left, it’s a one-way street.”

The Doctor raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

“What? No, but here it says that you have to turn left…”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. Just keep driving.”

The Master sighed heavily but drove on.

“What if we turn right? That street over there should take us past the station.”

He took a deep breath, frowning over the steering wheel into the forest across the street.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“It’s coming up, you’re going to miss it!” She said, trying to correct his steering.

“I hope I do because it’s the slower way.” He replied, trying to take the steering wheel from her hands. 

“Just take the road. Just do it!” She yelled and pulled harder.

“Fine.”

The Master turned the wheel of the car sharply.

‘There. Happy?”

She pouted, sighed, flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder in annoyance, and finally sat down.

“Yes, thank you.”

He cursed under his breath.

“You are _unbelievable_.”

“And you have no sense of direction.” She grunted, turning her back to him.

The two of them fell silent as the car moved along.

“I can see what you are doing.” The Doctor said abruptly.

“Oh, and what would that be?” He inquired with one eyebrow raised, thrumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

“You are looking at the clock to see how long it takes us to get there just to prove that I’m wrong.”

The Master scoffed at the idea, waving his hand dismissively.

“Well, if you are right you have nothing to worry about.’

“So, you are doing it.”

She turned back to face him and found him staring at her.

“Doing what?”

“Try to prove me wrong.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Well, what if you’ll slow down the car just to prove that you are right?”

He shot her an offended look.

“Do you really think that I am that petty?”

“I don’t know, are you?”

The Master sighed, turning his attention back to the winding road ahead.

“No, I’m not.”

She gave him a skeptical look.

“I guess we will see.”

The Master gasped like the drama queen he was, looking utterly offended and betrayed, but the Doctor ignored him.

“Take the next one left.”

“So, you _do_ know where we’re going.” He muttered and pressed harder on the gas.

“Of course, I do. Pretty sure. _Plus_ , I have it on the map!”

“Pretty sure? You have known each other for _years_. You must know where Graham’s place is.” 

“I know that I know Graham’s place. What are you telling me about Graham’s place for? Of course I know Graham’s place!” She replied.

“So where is it?”

“Same spot it’s been since Ryan and Yaz first took me there.”

“And _when_ do you plan to get us there?” He said, staring at her like she was slow.

The Doctor shot him an offended glance: “I am working on it!”

After turning left onto a smaller road, the Master pulled over the car. It had grown dark outside and he was pretty sure they were driving in circles.

“Listen. We really should try to figure out where we are.” He said as his glance jumped over to the Doctor, who had maps scattered all over her lap. “Are you sure you have the right map?”

This time it was her turn to sigh.

“No, I am not sure. There’s too many.”

The Master clenched his hands around the wheel, knuckles turning white beneath the skin as he scowled at his annoying company. 

“You know, we wouldn’t have that problem if you’d stop being pretentious and use a satnav instead, like normal people do.”

The Doctor glared.

“If we hadn’t been too busy arguing over who was going to drive, we would have had more time to take a proper look at the maps before leaving.”

“Great. So, now it’s my fault?”

The Doctor fell silent and recognized the tension in his shoulders and jaw. She sighed, softer this time.

“I am sorry.”

The Master merely nodded and got them back on the road.

“Good. Now turn that damn thing on.”

“ _Turn left in three hundred yards.”_

She was pretty sure that the Master was going to break the steering wheel if he gripped it any tighter.

He shook with rage as he turned his legendary glare on the satnav, snarling as if anything he said to the machine could make a difference. Somehow – miraculously – the car stayed on course.

“You said that three hundred yards ago!” He shouted. “Doctor!”

The Doctor, who had been lazily leaning her face against the car window in a futile attempt to take a nap since hour seven had hit, sat up straight and peered at him with measured amusement. “Yes?”

“What is it with this GPS," sneered the Master. "Have you been messing with it?". "Possibly." She replied as she saw him pry it off the window and shake it.

_“Turn left in one hundred yards.”_

“Maybe,” she tried to say, avoiding his annoyed glance, “We should listen to it. Then we can – and I know this sounds crazy, but – maybe it will get us somewhere that we _won’t be lost._ ”

There was a pause of confused silence in which the Master frowned.

“We are not lost!” He shouted, louder than the situation required, and threw the satnav on her lap.

 _“Turn left now._ ”

The Master drove past the recommended left. The Doctor groaned.

“The satnav lady said we had to take that street!” She said in a small voice.

“Then the satnav lady is a moron.” He said bluntly. “Anyway, there’s no point in telling me after I’ve gone past it.”

She stood and stared at him and he gazed right back. He was looking at her as if she were some sort of strange species.

An idiot.

All her careful plans. All her defiance. Ruined by an idiot. 

“Why are we going to that party again?” he asked as she watched her leaning forward to switch on some music.

With a sigh of relief, the Master acknowledged the fact that she had apparently picked out a CD instead of playing the radio. Both of them were convinced the other had a bad music taste but nothing was worse than listening to the radio. And the Doctor _did_ listen to the radio.

 _A lot_ _._

But not that day. _His_ car, _his_ rules, _his_ music. 

The Doctor rolled her eyes feigning a look of extreme disinterest.

“Because we were invited.”

The Master huffed, not satisfied with the answer.

“Or maybe you simply like seeing me in a suit.” He purred.  
Despite the dark of the night, he managed to catch a glimpse of her reddened cheeks and her nervous fingers, adjusting the bowtie she was so unused to wearing.

This time the Doctor didn’t have a clever answer. 

_“Rerouting for destination._ _Turn right in fifty yards._ _”_

“Ok, right. So, we are not lost,” She finally managed to say, sounding far calmer than she looked.

“I wonder if we’re being punished by the satnav goddess for ignoring her instructions. Is this the alternative route for hell or is this how she exacts revenge when someone chooses to ignore her instructions?” He teased.

“I have no idea but maybe, just _maybe_ , we should do as she says.”

No one spoke for what felt like hours, but the Doctor was pretty sure it had only been a few seconds. Then, the Master drove straight past the right turn.

“Before you ask,” he said dismissing her concern with the wave of a hand. “I’m ignoring the satnav and going the way I think is right.”

Oh well.

She had had worse days.

“This is the worst idea you've ever had,” the Doctor growled and he couldn't suppress his grin. It wasn't like she could see it in the dark. 

“I distinctly remember this being not my idea,” he pointed out and she just grunted.

“How do you get lost from your Tardis to _here_?” Yaz asked over the phone. The Master cleared his throat.

“Yes, _how?_ ” He repeated.

The Doctor made an annoyed gesture with her hands.

“Go on!” She told Yaz. “Don’t mind what he says.”

“Ten minutes, tops! My flat is ten minutes away and you’ve been driving for almost three hours _._ We went to dinner! We had three coffees each! We had _cake_!” The Master rolled his eyes as another voice came on the line.

“We missed the cake! How tragic.”

“Oy!” She protested, throwing him an annoyed glance from over the maps. “I’ve been dreaming of that cake!”

“We thought you died,” Ryan said, sounding worried. Or relieved. “Are you, okay?” He asked the Doctor.

She had just started mumbling about faulty GPS systems and the need to renovate the local roadways and how they certainly weren’t lost at all, when the Master cut her short with a brusque: “She is perfectly fine. I _swear_.”

An unconvinced pause and then Ryan said: “You’d better not be lying. Listen, I’ll hand you over to Yaz.”

“Ok, great.” She said, winking at the Master. If he noticed her looking, he made no reaction to show that he cared. “So, she’s asking us which side of the street we are on.” The Doctor said casually at one point. The Master gave her a disconcerted look.

“What do you mean which side of the street?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean? Right or left?”

The Master furrowed his brows, looking at her through the mirror.

“We’re in the UK. I can’t drive on the right.”

“Ok,” she said in her normal tone. “So that’s the wrong street.”

The car came to a halt with a squeak and the Master wheeled it around into the opposite direction right in the middle of the street.

“Give me that phone.” He said holding out his hand. The Doctor shot a glance at the dashboard clock. If she believed in conspiracies, she'd swear the higher powers had gone out of their way just to make sure they took every wrong street between the Tardis and Graham’s place.

“Listen.” This time his voice hovered somewhere near freezing. “I’m asking you nicely and as you know, I normally don't ask for anything nicely. But if you make me ask again, I promise you-”

 _“Doctor, please do as he says!”_ Yaz’ voice buzzed out of the cell phone speaker.

“Here,” she said shooting him an offended look. “She wants to talk to you.”

“See? It wasn’t that difficult.” He said, reaching up to grab her phone as the Doctor brought it up to her chest.

“First promise me you’ll behave.” She pleaded.

“Of course I’ll behave!” He replied, trying to take the phone from her.

“Of course nothing. You know what you’re like.” She said holding it away from him.

“Fine.” He crossed his arms, shooting her an annoyed glance. “I’ll do as you say. Now, give me that phone.”

“First say, I promise to behave like a normal human being,”

“I _promise_. Now, let me talk to her.”

Yaz heard a deep sigh on the phone. Then a male voice, soft, controlled, between gritted teeth, said: “I don't give a damn who gives me the damn directions, long as they can talk, long as I can understand 'em, I don't care. Just give me the damn address!”

A half hour and three desperate phone calls later, they finally reached their destination.

They were forced to stop several times to take a look at the map and argue a little more over who of them was the one incapable of finding the right street.

Eventually, however, they found what they were looking for and the Master even managed to spot a parking space for the car.

It was only when the Doctor had already rang the doorbell that the Master looked up to meet her eyes and asked: “Did you take the gift?”

The Doctor startled, looked at her own hands and then back into the dark into the vague direction of where they had left the car.

“Shit.”


End file.
